SPacE
by ForeverMATT
Summary: Matt's one test away from failing, and Mello's adamant that his best friend gets a passing grade. However, Matt's convinced that he already knows all he needs to know about the subject.


**Title:** SPacE

**Summary: **Matt's one test away from failing, and Mello's adamant that his best friend gets a passing grade. However, Matt's convinced that he already knows all he needs to know about the subject.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own DN, and the punch line of this story was stolen from an old tv show.

**Author's Note: **I didn't feel like using my brain, so the Science-related crap was brought to you by the Copy/Paste method. *feigns enthusiasm*

…

* * *

Matt knew he was failing; he just couldn't bring himself to care about the subject. That wasn't his fault. He knew that just one more bad grade could be his downfall; he could fail, but there was so many other things he was good at.

An open book opened but unstudied, he bit his lip in concentration, ducking his head down to get a better view of the Gameboy he so cleverly hid between himself and the desk as his tutor rambled on and on. He'd just saved another civilian and grinned in triumph when his precious game was snatched by a vicious blonde.

"Are you even listening to me? Fuck, no wonder you're failing Science!"

"Sorry, Mells," Matt mumbled, though there was no sincerity in his tone. "I just... hate Science. I like Computer Science better. Who cares if I fail one class?"

To this, the blonde gawked awkwardly, body stiff and face twisted into something horrific before he spazzed "I care, you lazy, good-for-nothing ninny! You do realize that failing Science will get you held back a year, right? And then what am I supposed to do without my best friend?! Huh?!"

The redhead buried his face into the fluffy collar of his vest to hide his growing smile, heart swelling with warmth at being acknowledged as a best friend. "Sorry, Mells. Let's try again."

Mello took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm down and regain his composure. Once he was decidedly ready, he turned to face Matt and said "Okay. So, what's the last thing you actually paid attention to?"

Matt rolled his head back, goggled eyes searching the ceiling and light fixtures for nothing in particular as he fought to retrieve the necessary file in his memory bank. "Erm, this is Science, right? With, like, planets, and stars, and satellites? And... quasars? And, didn't you say something about bubble gum or tampons?"

Mello face-palmed. "You didn't listen to a thing I've been saying for the past half hour!" He stomped around childishly and tugged at his hair. "I'm gonna need a minute." And then he walked away, exiting the library and leaving the redhead all on his lonesome.

Matt waited impatiently for Mello. He thought about playing his game, but Mello had taken it with him. Then he just thought of leaving, but before he could summon the drive to get up and do so, Mello was coming back with a large bag that he hastily emptied onto Matt's desk.

Over a dozen chocolate bars seemed to be Mello's bounty, and he snatched one up, ripped through the wrapper, and snapped a large piece off, moaning at the taste as he devoured it gluttonously.

Matt grimaced, not quite liking the treat. "Mells? The tutoring session? You're supposed to teach me about aliens and stuff, remember?"

Mello glared but finished his candybar and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Fine, well start at the beginning of the lesson. So pay attention. In 1946, an astrophysicist named Dr. Lyman Spitzer Jr. proposed that a telescope in space would reveal much clearer images of distant objects than any ground-based telescope. That sounds logical, right? But this was an outrageous idea, considering no one had even launched a rocket into outer space yet..." Mello was content to rattle off the things he'd so easily committed to memory weeks ago, eyes closed and voice lilting with pubescence. "As the U. S. space program matured in the 1960s and 1970s, Spitzer lobbied NASA and Congress to develop a space telescope. In 1975, the European Space Agency -the ESA- and NASA began drafting the initial plans for it, and in 1977, Congress approved the necessary funds. NASA named Lockheed Missiles -now Lockheed Martin- as the contractor that would build the telescope and its supporting systems, as well as assemble and test it...-"

When Mello next looked up, Matt's head was bowed, eyes closed and a soft whistling sound flowing through a small gap between his primary and secondary teeth.

Mello was enraged, but he calmed himself with another two-three-_four_ chocolate bars before slamming a book onto the desk, easily getting the redhead's attention once more. "Dumbass, you fell asleep. We're getting nowhere with this, and you're not going to know anything about space if you don't pay attention, Matt!"

As the blonde tutor huffed and puffed, Matt shuffled nervously in his seat. Then... "Mells?"

"What Matt?"

"Well, I-uh, just wanted to say that... I know at least one thing about '_space_.'"

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?"

Matt tried and failed to keep his face void of pride but that resulted in a full-blown, ear-to-ear grin as he gave his answer. "Well, if you keep eating so much chocolate all the time, you're going to take up a lot more _space_ than I do!"

"..."

* * *

**...**

**/I'll write and deadicate a OneShot to whoever can guess what old tv show I got the punch line from./**


End file.
